My Dad's Favorite Vehicle

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I don't know if it is the same thing, but one of the high school clunkers my sister had was an 81 Cordoba, and I think it had the 6 in it...either way, it had some kind of crude computer that caused no end of problems. Of course it was a neglected 15 year old car then, but my dad always went on about a "computer" causing all the issues.

I think 1981 was the year that GM started loading up their cars with computers. They put the ECU down in the kick panel in the passenger-side footwell. Supposedly 1981-82 was a really bad timeframe for these things, too. And I remember my grandparents on my Mom's side getting a 1982 Malibu wagon that shot its ECU, out of warranty, to the tune of about $500. They had it replaced, and the second one crapped out sometime in the fall of 1984, wherupon Granddad got fed up and they went and bought a Buick LeSabre. I remember Grandmom saying that they looked a blue one first, but it wouldn't start, which gave her a bad vibe. The next one they looked at was a gray one, which fired right up, and that's the one they came home with.

I'd imagine that by 1981, Chrysler was loading more computer crap on their cars as well, just waiting to fail and wreak havoc.

of a Crop Duster. I've heard of a Gold Duster and a Feather Duster, though. And there was something called a Twister, that looked like a Duster 340, just minus the 340. I guess it just had the graphics, rally wheels, and maybe bucket seats. And there was something called a Space Duster, where the back seat cushion folded up (rather than down like most hatchbacks/wagons) to create more trunk space. There was also a Silver Duster, available in 1976. Allpar.com doesn't say much about it; I guess it was just a final-edition trim package that they put on the last A-body Dusters.

:surprise: Wow, I thought there was a punchline somewhere in that I had no idea there were that many editions of the Duster! Then there was the sibling, the Demon to go with it, were there editions of that car too?

BTW, thanks for the info. How you know all this stuff is amazing... :surprise:

to be honest, I only remembered the Gold Duster and Feather Duster. I had to look that other stuff up on Allpar.com. I tried searching the web though, and couldn't find anything at all about a Plymouth Crop Duster.

As for the Demon, well it was renamed the Dart Sport for 1973, because a lot of people in the Bible Belt didn't like the idea of driving a Demon to church. There was a Dart Lite that corresponded to the Feather Duster. There was something called a "Convertriple", which had the folding rear seat and a sunroof. There was something else called a Dart Hang Ten, but I forget what its angle was.

Ah, yes, the Hang Ten. Only you could have reminded me of that one, Andre. I believe that was a reference to surfing. I guess Chrysler may have tried to niche market to the California and Hawaii crowds with that one.

I don't imagine that name would be too popular in this age of terrorism and frequent images of brutal acts. Somehow Avenger Hang Ten doesn't sound too appealing. But maybe, if that Dart had the 340, it was brutal in a positive way. Don't know what engine it had, though.

Now that I hear it a few times, and put the phrase "Duster" and "Twister" together, that sounds like it might have been the one. I'll have to confirm with my folks when they get back from their trip, but I'll be damned if that isn't it instead.

I am positive they had a 340. Even had the decals on the rear quarter. If I can hijack a picture of the two cars together, I'll post it.

...and to keep this sort of on topic :blush:, I recalled a car that belonged to my childhood best friend's Dad. He babied it like it was his eighth child. A Plymouth Road Runner! All I really remember about it was its distinctive horn. Meep-meep!

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I wish my Dad had babied some of his cars a bit better. As it was, he had a habit of ragging them out and throwing a rod or something, and then leaving the carcass abandoned on a lonely country road. That was the fate that met his '65 Impala SS396, which had the 425 hp setup and a 4-speed. I imagine a car like that, in good shape, would really be worth something today. But back then it was just a 5 or 6 year old clunker with a blown engine.

Dad also had a '62 Corvette, which I'm too young to remember it very well, but somewhere in a family photo album there's a pic of it sitting in the circle of my grandparents' driveway and me pointing at it. I guess I was about 3 at the time. It was a total piece of junk though. And to make matters worse, Dad hit a taxi with it. Broke out the taillight on the taxi. Pretty much demolished the passenger-side fender and door on the Corvette.

A couple years ago, I was talking with Dad about some of his old cars, and he said that he had originally wanted to fix that Corvette up and give it to me when I turned 16. I dunno if that was true or not though, or if he just made it up on the spot. You know how, sometimes, parents can tell you things that you like to hear, just to save face, I guess? :P

My Dad was my polar opposite when it came to car care. Both my parents smoked and the inside of the car looked like Pittsburgh circa 1955 when we took a trip. The floors would be covered with McDonald's wrappers and months-old shopping flyers. The ashtray would be overflowing with ashes, cigarette butts, and paper debris. The driver's footwell would be 1/2" deep with dirt and pebbles. His approach to car repair was to let problems go until they couldn't be ignored and when they were dealt with, his approach was "good enough." When I first got my license, I took the time to clean and detail my Dad's ride. A friend of mine thought my family purchased a new car. I told him it was the same car, I just cleaned and detailed it. He was astonished. For a short time, my Dad's car was spoiled. Then I got my 1968 Buick Special Deluxe. My little sister preferred to ride in my car as it was A LOT cleaner.

My dad's favorite car was a 1956 Pontiac 4 door. It was pink and grey. I think it was a hardtop. He also liked our 1949 Packard that I learned to drive in. I was not allowed to drive the Pontiac. His favorite PU trucks were all Studebakers. He kept one of them running into the 1980s. He tried several other PU trucks and ended up with Dodge Diesels the last 20 years of his life.

Actually, he already DID buy an American car to replace the Altima - a Ford Fusion. I think he wanted to buy another Altima, but he felt the Nissan dealer treated him shabbily and wouldn't budge on the price.

Favorite car was a 1962 Olds Starfire. 394CI with 345 HP. The thing would flat fly down the road and heading to Vegas from LA late at night you cold sit on 100 and not even know you were on the ground.

You could start a discussion about readers' first car, or there may already be an archived one that can be revived. Maybe one's first two cars, why they were sold, plus what they now drive might be even more interesting.

I got a phone call yesterday from the Fire Department that my father belonged to for 41 years (volunteer) and they asked me if I wanted my fathers old '95 F-150 that we donated to them for the Chief to use. i told them I had to think about it. They were just asking because of the mileage on it (just shy of 450k). When we donated the truck to the department after my father passed away, we had made arangements with a local Ford dealer that my father purchased the truck from (and they customized it for him) that they would do all normal maintenance (oil changes, filters & such) at no charge, as long as the truck was the Fire Chiefs vehicle. This ended when the dealer closed 2 months ago. I'm torn in decideding if I want the truck or not. The department is not selling it or anything, they are just asking me if I would like to have it.